Bars, Restaurants, & Taverns

CASEY’S

Hate crime incident? June 2008, cited in The Oregonian

And then again Per the Oregonian January 20, 2011, Jury clears man of hate crime outside bar | Author/Byline: AIMEE GREEN; The Oregonian 

SUMMARY: The defendant is found guilty of knocking a cell phone out of a gay man's hands in Old Town

Jury clears man of hate crime outside bar 21 months later, witnesses unreachable

A Multnomah County jury found a 23-year-old Vancouver man guilty of knocking a cell phone out of a gay man's hand as he spoke to 9-1-1 but cleared the defendant of charges, he yelled homophobic slurs and struck the man because he thought he was gay.

Circuit Judge Adrienne Nelson sentenced Blake Andrew McCune Wednesday to 11/2 years of probation, 80 hours of community service and a $300 fine for the April 2009 incident outside of Casey's nightclub, a gay-friendly bar in Old Town Portland.

The encounter was one of a few high-profile incidents in the past two years that have sparked calls for more aggressive and swifter enforcement of reported anti-gay crimes.

During McCune's trial, the defense and the prosecution presented drastically different versions of what happened.

Airick Heater, a 42-year-old DJ and party promoter, said he heard McCune using homophobic slurs at a group of patrons outside the bar. Among other things, he heard McCune tell the men they were "AIDS infested."

"I said, 'Is there a problem?' " Heater recounted. "That's when Blake said, 'Are you one of them?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm one of them.' "

McCune then repeated a homophobic slur, pushed him and walked away, Heater said. The DJ and others followed as Heater dialed 9-1-1, and Heater said he pushed one of McCune's friends against a wall to stop the friend from throwing a punch.

When the dispatcher told Heater to walk away, McCune followed. Heater said McCune again lobbed a homophobic slur and punched him in the face, knocking the cell phone out of his hand.

Casey’s Bar or Casey’s Night Club
610 NW Couch St
503–224–9062
Years 2008 - 2018

Ad above from Just Out Newspaper, September 21, 2007.

Per https://www.wweek.com/bars/2018/12/24/portlands-oldest-male-strip-club-is-moving-into-a-new-location-the-day-after-christmas/ By Andrew Jankowski

December 24, 2018, at 3:02 pm PST The Pacific Northwest's longest-running male strip club is finally moving to a new location.

Back in March, Silverado announced on its Facebook page that it would be leaving its Old Town location, at where it's existed since 2008. (It originally opened in the 1970s, in the building that currently houses the Crystal Hotel downtown, under the name Flossie's.)  Though patrons packed in on the weekend of March 31 for what was supposed to be the last weekend, Silverado stayed open through spring and into the fall.

On Dec. 20, the club announced that it would be moving to 611 (610 actually) NW Couch St. The first day open will be Thursday, Dec. 27.

"We were lucky enough to be able to stay in our current location this last year even though the lease had already been transferred to the new tenants," says Trevor Wion, Silverado's social media manager. "They had permits and planning to do, so us paying the lease for them helped us both out."

Wion says neighboring strip club the Golden Dragon will be expanding into their former building. Wion says Silverado has taken on extensive renovations for the building, including earthquake retrofitting, soundproofing, and new fire sprinklers.

Silverado's new location is next to Star Theater and across the street from Roseland Theater, and an easy walk to their direct competitor, Stag. The building has previously housed sports bars, including the recently closed gay bar Casey's.

Casey’s was also mentioned with regard to Blow Pony per https://lv.foursquare.com/v/blow-pony/4c79f7abbd346dcb5c65f7ef Ryan Thompson May 19, 2012 It was better when it was at Casey's on NW Couch. Lots of straight people go now just to gawk from the sidelines, seeing "what the gays are wearing this month". Line to get in is 400 feet long, too.

Per http://www.golocalpdx.com/lifestyle/dirty-dozen-the-top-12-gay-clubs-in-portland 9. Casey's This recently relocated men’s bar used to have everyone scratching their heads over how the stayed open in Old Town. Now that it’s more centrally located in the meat of the city, there’s a good chance this will be the one bar that actually might stay open in this seemingly cursed space. (412 SW 4th Ave., http://caseyspdx.net/) 

McCune told jurors that Heater was the one picking on him and his two friends, who'd asked a group of men outside the nightclub for a cigarette. The men told them to leave.

McCune said he told the men they didn't have to be so rude.

That's when Heater grabbed McCune's shirt and said, "You ever heard of the Hells Angels, bro?" McCune said he responded by describing Heater with a homophobic slur. McCune said he regrets that.

Despite the use of the slur, McCune later testified that he didn't know Heater was gay.

McCune said he saw Heater push his friend against the wall, and when he tried to leave, Heater blocked him. McCune said he knocked the phone away out of frustration.

Within days of the incident, prosecutors charged McCune with multiple crimes. A judge dismissed the case in January 2010, although it's unclear why. There was confusion about whether Heater was available to testify.

In June, Heater, who was frustrated about the status of the case, went to a community forum about hate crimes against gays led by Portland Police Chief Mike Reese, Mayor Sam Adams and Deputy District Attorney Rod Underhill.

Heater brought up his case. Underhill took the unusual step for a misdemeanor case of asking a police detective to try to track down witnesses. Underhill reinstated charges.

Heater said he is frustrated that many of the witnesses who would have supported his story turned out to be unreachable 21 months after the incident.

McCune's attorney, Troy Pickard, said his client was pleased he wasn't convicted of a hate crime. It was a "resounding victory," Pickard said. Pickard said McCune is a supporter of gay rights, and he plans on doing his community service at an agency that supports such rights "because that's the kind of person he is."

history:

citations & references:

  • Listed in Damron’s Men’s Travel Guide 2010 Under: Nightclubs